Keep Virginia Beautiful Awards $1,000 to Downtown Roanoke, Inc.

April 6,2011

Richmond, Virginia (April 6, 2011) –In honor of Earth Month, Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB) is awarding “30 Grants In 30 Days” in April, 2011. Downtown Roanoke Inc. has been awarded a $1,000 grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention Category. The KVB grant program focuses greater resources and attention on individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.

KVB provided the opportunity for government, non-profit and/or service organizations in Virginia to apply for one of (30) $1,000 grants in three different categories: 10 grants for plastic bag reduction and recycling, 10 grants for cigarette litter prevention, and 10 grants for community greening and beautification. These grants are made possible by KVB’s partners, Walmart and Waste Management.

Downtown Roanoke Inc (DRI) will partner with the City of Roanoke, and AAF Roanoke to create a Cigarette Litter Prevention Signage Campaign. DRI's litter prevention program was established 2 years ago with the installation of cigarette butt receptacles throughout Downtown Roanoke. In order to continue to create awareness of this program, they hope to further educate the public about the hazards of cigarette litter through creative signage at various hot spots and merchant locations. Their initiative meets the intent of the grant by raising awareness about cigarettes as litter, and encouraging the public to keep our streets clean. For information Downtown Roanoke Inc. and their project, contact Lyndsay Smith, lyndsays@downtownroanoke.org or (540) 342-2028.

The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve our natural and scenic environment. Our goals include becoming the leading statewide voice, providing a framework for improved communication and collaboration, cultivating and supporting sustainable programs, and engaging citizens by linking them to volunteer opportunities and information through these 5 impact areas: Litter Prevention, Waste Reduction, Recycling, Beautification, and Environmental Education. For more information on KVB, go to http://www.keepvirginiabeautiful.org.